Internet Love
by GGfan999
Summary: Casey and Derek meet up on a chat room not knowing who eachother was. Awful at summaries so just read.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Nothing about LWD belongs to me because well, if it did, i wouldn't be here writing fanfiction. I probably would be doing something else._**  
**

**Chapter one:**

Casey was at her locker, rummaging through it when her best friend, Emily came up to her.

"Hey Casey!" she said once she got to her locker.

"Hey Em!" she put her books back into her locker, closed it and began to walk down the hall with Emily right next to her. "So what's up?"

"Nothing much. I heard that you broke up with a certain brown head boy." She knew her friend long enough to know that if she said his name, Casey would burst into tears. She really didn't feel with dealing with that at the moment.

"Yep," Casey said in a tone that obviously meant that she wanted to drop the subject. Emily picked this up and decided never to mention it again until Casey was ready to talk about it.

"Well I don't think you will be alone for much longer." Casey gave her a questioning look. "I heard of this site…"

"No way!" she said interrupting Emily. She couldn't believe her friend was asking her to join a dating service. She hated those things and besides she wasn't even over him yet. "And how can I? I'm not even over him yet!"

"Listen, I'm not saying you have to date anyone. Yet anyways. But wouldn't it be fun to make a profile and meet people you wouldn't have met otherwise." She tried to convince Casey and by the look on her face, it seemed like it was working.

"I'll think about it." She finally said. "But what about all the sickos out there that look for teenagers and do 'stuff' to them?"

Emily laughed. She knew that Casey was going to say something like that. "Trust me, you won't have to worry about that stuff. The site's pretty safe."

"And you know this how?"

"Well, I read their 'Private Policy' knowing full well that you would ask me about it." Emily explained. "So what do you say?"

"I think about it. You know how I feel about these sites, Em."

"Yeah I know but at least your thinking about it. It's actually a pretty cool site. I met a bunch of nice and not to mention hot guys on it. You'll love it." She explained. "Just tell me when you decide though." Casey nodded and both of them headed towards their first class.

Derek was walking down the hallway towards his first period class with Sam. They stopped at his locker on the way to get something.

"So, have you heard about this dating site?" Sam asked leaning on a locker. "Lot's of people, 'cool' people, are joining it."

"No why?" Derek asked him looking at him with this confused look on his face. He had no idea what provoked Sam to ask such a question.

"Just wondering. Since you are like a dating god, I just though you would have heard about it. There is definatly some pretty hot chicks on it, Derek."

Derek laughed, "So you've been on it before? I never thought you were that desperate but I guess I was wrong." He laughed again.

"Shut it!" Sam said obviously annoyed at his friend. "I don't just go on the site to date people, I also go on the site to also make friends."

"Sure you are." Derek laughed. He picked up a book, closed his locker and started walking towards his first period class.

Sam rolled his eyes and went after his friend. When Derek had realized that Sam was back beside him,. Derek asked, "So was there a reason why you brought up this subject?"

"I already told you!"

"No you did. There has to be more to it than that so tell me the real reason."

"That was the real reason. I just wanted to know. There was nothing else to it, honest." Sam tried to convince Derek,

"Okay what ever you say. It's not like it even matters in the first place." Derek shrugged. "So what's the site called?"

"Spin the bottle." Sam told him.

"Oh I heard of that. I just thought you were talking about another site."

"Yeah but you should definatly try it out. It's an awesome site."

"I'll think about it. You know I'm not one of those types of people though, right?"

"Yeah I do but still. You'll love it." Sam tried to convince him. Derek nodded, still thinking, and kept on walking towards their first period class.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nothing about LWD belongs to me because well, if it did, i wouldn't be here writing fanfiction. I probably would be doing something else.

Author's note: I need a beta so if anyone is interested please feel free to PM me or e-mail me. My e-mail is I really appriciate anyone that is kind enough to respond.

So hope you enjoy and please review. Any kind of review is welcomed. I need at least two or more reviews to update it again.

**Chapter two:**

It had been a week since both Emily and Sam told their two best friends about the site. Neither of them bothered to say anything about it so neither did them. Finally, after two weeks, Casey finally said something.

"Hey Em." Casey said heading towards Emily who was by her locker. "I finally decided!"

"Great." Emily said. "So what's the verdict?"

"I'm joining. It would be a great way to get over Max." Casey told her friend. "But there is just one little problem."

"What?" she asked knowing that nothing is that simple when it comes to Casey.

"Umm, I'm not sure how to make the profile. So if you could be so kind, could you help me?" she asked pleadingly.

"Of course I will." She said smiling. "So meet up after school?"

"Yep, that sounds great. I'll see you later then." Emily nodded and Casey walked towards her locker to get her books for first period.

XXX

Emily and Casey were in Casey's room, on the computer working on Casey's profile. Emily was the one who was typing and Casey was just the one who told her what to write.

"So, what do you look for in a guy?" Emily asked her.

"Umm. Sweet, funny, sexy, respectful." Emily typed all these things down. "and honest, and trust worthy." Casey finished. She couldn't think of anymore.

"Physical attributes?"

"Doesn't really matter. I can take anything, as long as it looks good." She told her.

Emily nodded and typed that in. "and what about clothing style? Or you don't care about that one either?"

Casey thought about it and thought about all the guys she dated in the past. "I don't considering that I care more about personality but as long as its not gothic, it's fine by me."

Emily nodded and typed that in also. "and your personal appearance or do you want to just put a picture in?"

Casey also had to think about this one. Since she had no good pictures of herself she decided just to describe herself. "I'll just describe myself. I have no good pictures of me anyways. Sorry Em."

"No it's fine. I don't have anything better to do in the first place." Casey laughed and began describing herself.

About an hour or so after that, they were finished. It was about 6:30. Since dinner was ready, Casey asked Emily to stay for dinner. All through Dinner, Casey and Emily were both acting weird which didn't go unnoticed by Derek. She agreed but left after dinner since she had homework to do. Soon it was only Casey and Derek at the table. Everyone else had stuff to do.

"So what was that all about?" Derek asked Casey.

Casey turned around. "What?" she said confused.

"You and Emily. You guys seem like you're hiding something. So what is it?" he asked again even though he knew that he would never get an answer out of her.

"We aren't hiding anything and even if we were, what makes you think we would tell you?" she said smirking.

"Well I'm irresistible for one." Casey scoffed at this which made Derek smile. "and girls just fall at my feet and tell me anything I want to know." He was also smirking.

"I've been living with you for how long? And when has that ever worked on me? Trust me Derek, your charm will never work on me." She told him grinning.

"That's what you say now but eventually, like everyone does, you'll fall and treat me like every other girl in this world."

Casey scoffed, "Yeah right. That would never happen. Maybe in your dreams but never in reality." She told him. "I'm going up now. I can't stand being in your presence a moment longer." She got up and walked up the stars. Derek just smiled. He just loved getting under her skin.

XXX

Derek and Sam were sitting on a flight of stairs talking about the site that Sam had introduced Derek to a few weeks ago.

"So have you decided yet?" Sam asked him.

"Yep and I'm going to join. I've asked a couple people and they said it was a pretty cool site." Derek explained. "and there is no harm in trying it out right!?"

"Yep, exactly. So have you went to the site yet?" he asked.

"Yep and I've already made a profile. It was probably the easiest thing that I ever had to do." He said laughing.

"Yeah I thought it was pretty easy." He said. "So have you had any clicks?"

"Not that I know of. I set it up last night and forgot to check it in the morning. I'm going to check it when I get home though."

Sam nodded. "So what are you doing tonight? I've got tickets to a hockey game and I was thinking we should go."

"Sweet! Who's playing?"

"the Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames."

"Cool. When does the game start?"

"It starts at 7:30 so I'll pick you up around 7:00."

"Alright, I'll see you then." Derek said as the bell rang. Both of them scurried down the hall towards there next class.

XXX

Casey was sitting at her computer looking at her profile on spin the It had only been a day and she already got over 20 replies. None of them stuck out expect for one named _hockeyfan101. _When she looked over his profile he found that he had all the qualities that she wanted in a man. He was funny, kind, sweet and caring. His physical attributes were also promising. She decided to send him a message

_Hockeyfan101, _ _Hey! I just looked over your profile and liked what I saw so if you could be so kind and send a message back, I would really appreciate it. _ _Take care,_ _Bailedancer34_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Nothing about LWD belongs to me because well, if it did, i wouldn't be here writing fanfiction. I probably would be doing something else.

Author's note: I need a beta so if anyone is interested please feel free to PM me or e-mail me. My e-mail is on my profile. I really appriciate anyone that is kind enough to respond.

So hope you enjoy and please review. Any kind of review is welcome. I need at least two or more reviews to update it again.

Note: Just so you know, I'm going on vacation for a week so don't expect a update until the week after next.

**Chapter three:**

Derek and Casey have been writing to each other for about two months now and neither of them were any of the wiser. Both of them decided not to tell what their names were until the time was right.

Over the past two months they had gotten pretty close. Right from the beginning, they hit it off. They could be on the computer talking for ever. They told each other everything and were even beginning to fall in love. Well, not enough to notice that they were falling in love with there worst nemesis.

One day, Derek thought it was time for them to meet.

_Hockeyfan101: Hey Babe! What's up?? _

_**Bailedancer34: Not much. Just having to deal w/ my annoying step brother. How about you?**_

_Hockeyfan101: Same here. Anyways, there was something I wanted to ask you. _

_**Bailedancer34: What? **_

_Hockeyfan101: Well we have been talking for a while now…_

_**Bailedancer34: Yeah we have **__****__** …**_

_Hockeyfan101: So I've been thinking that it's time that we finally meet face to face. _

Casey wasn't sure that she was able to do that. She liked having things the way they were right now. Everything that happened during these past two months was a dream come true and she didn't want to ruin it by meeting the guy and having to deal with reality.

_**Bailedancer34: I'll have to think about that. I'm not sure that now is the best time. **_

_Hockeyfan101: Sure what ever. That's fine by me. I just thought that after all the time we've talked, that it was finally time for us to deal with the inventible._

_**Bailedancer34: Yeah I know. I just don't think I'm ready for that just yet. **_

_Hockeyfan101: fine by me. Just message me when you're ready. Listen I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye Sweetie. _**([Hockeyfan101 signed off)**

XXXX

Casey sighed and turned off her computer. When she was done, she called Emily. After five rings, Emily finally answered the phone. "Hey Em!" Casey said into the hand-held.

"Hey! What's up?" Emily asked.

"Not much but there is something I want to talk to you about."

"Okay. Shoot."

"You know the guy I've been talking to online right?"

"Yes…" she said wondering where this conversation was going.

"Well, today he asked me if we should meet sometime, in person." Casey told her friend.

"No kidding. That's great. I was wondering when you guys would finally meet." Emily said excitedly. "So when are you going to?"

"That's just the problem. I told him I wasn't ready."

Emily sighed. "Why aren't you ready? You've been talking to him for two months and you said you loved him, right? So it's about time you finally meet him."

"I do, trust me." She said reassuringly. "I just think it's too good to be true. I don't want to ruin a great thing by bringing reality into it."

"How do you know that it would ruin it? It just might bring you guys closer together." Emily told her.

"I actually never thought of that but I still think it's a bad idea."

"Why do you think it's such a bad idea? I still don't get it and besides you guys have been talking / dating for months now."

"I just do okay. I think that this relationship is better just for cyber space." Casey explained.

"You're acting like Sam in _A Cinderella Story_ and look how they ended up." Casey laughed; Emily made a good point. "I just think you guys should meet up but it's still up to you, not me."

"You're right but I'm still skeptical." Casey told her. "Thanks for everything though. I'll talk to you later, bye!"

"Bye Casey. Keep me posted okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Bye." Both of them hung up the phone at the same time. Casey then went down stairs to get something to eat. When she reached the down stairs, Derek was there to greet her. She groaned when she saw him; She really didn't feel like dealing with him at the moment.

"Hey sis!" he said when he realized that she was down there.

"Leave me alone, Derek. I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now." She told him obviously annoyed.

"Fine," he got up and went to the fridge to get something to drink. When he was done, he sat back down. "What's wrong with you anyways? You seem distracted."

"Nothing. I'm fine!" She didn't feel like discussing this with anyone, especially Derek. "It's none of your business anyways!" She grabbed a glass of milk and a cookie, then went back up stairs.

Derek frowned as she walked away. He wanted to know what was bugging her. She's been acting weird for awhile know. He just had to figure out how he would do it. After a few seconds of pondering he finally got an idea.

"Lizzie! Edwin!" He called. They were exactly what he need to figure out what was bugging Casey.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: don't own anything. _

_ Hope you enjoy and please review!!. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and everyone who had helped me through the course of this story. _

**Chapter 4**

Lizzie and Edwin came running when they heard Derek calling for them. They both wanted to know why Derek was calling for them.

When they got downstairs, Derek said, "Took you guys long enough?"

"Sorry Derek," Edwin said. "So what do you want now?"

"I want you guys to spy on Casey for me," Derek explained. "I want to know why she's been acting weird."

Both were quiet for a couple seconds then Lizzie began to talk. "Sorry Derek. I can't spy on my own sister," she told him. "She'll kill me!"

"Fine. Suit yourself," Derek said annoyed. He was angry that one of his 'people' wouldn't help him. He then turned to Edwin and asked, "How about you?"

Edwin turned to Lizzie, she shook her head. Then he looked at Derek. "Again sorry Derek. I can't do that. Why don't you just ask Emily? I'm sure she would…"

He wasn't able to finish his thought because Derek had interrupted him just then. "Emily wouldn't have told me even if I tried. She's best friends with Casey and I'm pretty sure that Casey told her not to tell anyone, especially me!"

"Okay fine," Edwin said defeated. "I'll help you but it'll come as a price."

"Yeah. That's the only way I'll help you too." Lizzie chimed in.

"Okay, I'll pay you guys." He rolled his eyes and thought to himself, 'why do they always have to be so difficult.'

It's probably genetic.

"You guys can't start today since she's at Emily's for the night," Derek said. "But tomorrow your job will begin."

"Okay. We'll tell you when we think of a plan," Edwin said and Derek nodded his head. Then they went back up the stairs to their room. When they got up, Derek thought it was time to check Casey's computer to see if she had anything there. He thought that because she puts everything in there, the thing that was bugging her had to be on it.

When he got up to her room, he sat down and turned her computer on. As he expected, she locked her computer. He tried to use all of the passwords that he could think of; none of them worked though. After another ten minutes, he finally gave up. He got up and walked outside the room. He walked inside his room and flung himself on his computer chair. After a few minutes of just sitting there, he sat up and signed on his desk top. He wondered if _his girl_ was online. When his buddy list popped up, he looked at it about two times before he realized that she wasn't on. Derek sighed and signed back off. He got up and went back downstairs to watch some television and get something to eat.

XXXX

Derek and Casey were on the computer talking to each other.

**Hockeyfan101: so have you decided yet?**

_Bailedancer34: I still think it's not a very good idea. My family doesn't even know about you yet! _

**Hockeyfan101: My family doesn't know about you either. I still think we should meet though. **

_Bailedancer34: I know you do. We'll meet soon, I promise. I just think that now isn't the best time. _

**Hockeyfan101: Okay. That's fine, I'll just wait until your ready. I'm cool with anything you want to do. **

_Bailedancer34: Thank you! I really appreciate it…now I'm ready to change the subject. _

**Hockeyfan101: okay. So how's dance?**

_Bailedancer34: It's pretty good. I have a dance recital in a couple days. _

**Hockeyfan101: That's cool. Tell me all about it when it's over. **

_Bailedancer34: I will…how's hockey?_

**Hockeyfan101: It's pretty good. I have a game today and if we win, we go to finals!!! **

_Bailedancer34: That's great!! Congratulations!! Good luck at your game. I hope you win!! _

**Hockeyfan101: Thank you. I hope we win too. We've been working for this for so long. **

_Bailedancer34: I know you have. You've been talking about it for awhile now…So how's your family? _

**Hockeyfan101: They're good. My step-sister is being annoying as usual. She's been acting very weird lately though. **

_Bailedancer34: My step-brother is being annoying as usual too. His music is on so loud that its very hard to concentrate. _

**Hockeyfan101: yeah I know what you mean. Some times I wish that my dad never married her mom. Then I realize that I've never seen my dad that happy for so long which makes everything worth while. **

_Bailedancer34: I feel the exact same way sometimes too. It's mostly when my step-bro is annoying the hell out of me. _

**Hockeyfan101: Same here. Where in Canada is your family from anyways? **

_Bailedancer34: umm…Alberta. Where is your family from? _

**Hockeyfan101: same…Alberta, Canada. **

_Bailedancer34: That's cool. Maybe we've seen each other and never knew it._

**Hockeyfan101: I doubt it. If we did, I would have noticed you and I've never noticed someone like you. **

_Bailedancer34: _blushing _That's sweet. I feel the same way actually. _

**Hockeyfan101: Really? That's very good actually because there is something I've been wanting to tell you for awhile now. **

_Bailedancer34: What?? _

**Hockeyfan101: I love you. **

After Derek realized what he had just said or typed he should say, he signed off immediately.

XXXX

Casey couldn't believe it. It was just way too good to be true. He loved her! She had never been this happy in her whole entire life. Sure she'd been happy with Sam and Max but never this happy. There was just something about this kid that made her feel alive and she liked that. She always sort of knew that they loved each other, well she was sure about her feelings but not his. She was sure now after they exchanged those words and she couldn't be happier.

They didn't really exchange them though.

XXXX

Derek kept on looking at his screen. He couldn't believe he just said/ typed that. He never said / typed those words for anyone before. He knew that he meant those words, he just couldn't believe that he actually loved someone; someone he hadn't met no less. He just wished he waited for her to respond.

Just then, the phone rang. It was his friend Sam.

"Hey Sam. What's up?" Derek said into the hand-held after he answered it.

"Not much. I just needed to tell you that I can't get a ride to the hockey game so I was wondering if you could give me a ride," Sam explained.

"Yeah of course. I'll pick you up at 7:30 then," Derek said. He was contemplating on telling him what had just happened a few minutes before.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you later then. Bye!"

Derek finally decided to tell him. After all he had to tell someone. He tried to stop him, "No. Don't go yet. I have to talk to you about something. "

"Okay. Shoot," Sam said wondering what was up with him.

"Well, you know about the girl that I've been talking to her for awhile now?" Sam grunted to indicate that he understood him. "Well, I kind of told her I loved her."

Sam couldn't believe it and started laughing. Derek, the serial dater, actually loved someone? No, that's too impossible. When he finally calmed down, he said, "You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm not. I really do love her! I know, it's not like me but I can't help it. She's like no other girl I've ever met." Derek said in a way that obviously meant that he was serious.

Sam was speechless. "Wow, You're really serious!"

"Yeah I am!" Derek said annoyed.

"Then I guess you've really have changed. When did this happen anyways?"

"I'm not sure. Since the beginning, I've always been attracted to her. She seemed awesome and very easy to talk to. I just don't know when those feelings turned into love though," Derek told him.

"I see. Did she say it back?"

"No," he said. "Well, she couldn't because I signed off before she had the chance."

"Why the hell did you do that?" Sam asked him. His friend could be so stupid sometimes.

"At the time, I thought that it wasn't the right time and maybe she though it was too soon and I was rushing things." Derek shrugged feeling stupid as he said it out loud.

"That's impossible. You never rush things. If anything, you take things slow and get scared when things go too fast."

"I know that but that's the way I used to be. This girl just brings out the best in me and for some reason and for the first time in my life, I'm not scared. She might be though and that's the whole problem."

"How would you know that she's scared? You didn't even wait for her to reason for Christ sake!" Sam explained.

"Well she won't even meet me, for one," he told Sam, "and for two, wouldn't she want to meet me if she actually felt the same way?"

"Maybe or maybe not. You'll never know until you talk to her. See what's really bugging her," he told his friend. "But let me ask you this; have you talked her since you said the L-word?"

"Well no. It happened only a couple minutes ago. A minute before you called."

"Then there you go. You need to talk to her. Soon. She might feel the same way and she might have even changed her mind about the whole meeting debacle," Sam said. "You just have to talk to her. You won't know anything until you do."

Derek stared out the window thinking about everything he just said. He never thought of it that way. Once he stepped back into reality he said, "How do you know all this stuff anyways?"

"Sisters. Experience. And I did date your step-sister after all. I learned a lot about girls during the course of that relationship," he said that as if it was obvious.

Derek laughed. He could definatly see that. "Thanks for that. It really helped. I'm going to talk to her as soon as possible," he said.

"Okay. That's good. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye Sam." He hung up the phone. He then got up and flung himself on his bed. He thought about everything that had just happened. He just hoped that Sam was right and everything would eventually fall into place. If he wasn't, he didn't know how he would deal with that. He really didn't want to lose her. Their relationship meant everything to him at the moment and probably for a long time to come.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything. _

_Hope you enjoy and please review and thanks to all the people who have already reviewed and the people who helped me with this chapter.  
_

**Chapter 5**

Derek was on his computer to see if she was on. He _had _to talk to her. He had to explain everything. Why he signed off so abruptly; why he was scared; and why he couldn't lose her and why he hoped that his actions didn't ruin their relationship. Derek sighed, relieved, that she was on. He double clicked on her screen name and once the screen popped up, he began writing an instant message.

**Hockeyfan101: Hey sweetie!! **

_Bailedancer34: Hey!! What's up?_

**Hockeyfan101: Not much. I just wanted to talk to you about what happened the other day. **

_Bailedancer34: Oh yeah that. I wanted to talk to you about that too. _

**Hockeyfan101: Oh. You go first. **

Derek hoped that the thing she was about to say wasn't going to be what he thought it was going to be. God, he hoped that it wasn't that.

_Bailedancer34: Well, you signed off right before I could tell you that I love you too. _

Derek was relieved and angry at the same time. He was relieved that nothing is going to change, well not for the worse, and that she actually loved him. That made him happier than he has ever been. However, he was mad at himself for spending so much time thinking that something was wrong when in reality everything was fine and couldn't be better. At least Sam was right though.

**Hockeyfan101: you do? **

_Bailedancer34: I do. I've known for awhile now actually. _

**Hockeyfan101: Really? Why didn't you say anything?**

_Bailedancer34: Why didn't you? _

**Hockeyfan101: LOL. Point taken. **

_Bailedancer34: That's what I thought! So what did you want to talk to me about? _

**Hockeyfan101: Oh nothing. It's not important now anyways. **

_Bailedancer34: Tell me!!! _

**Hockeyfan101: No it's fine. I told you it's not a big deal.**

_Bailedancer34: oh please!! Just tell me!! _

**Hockeyfan101: Fine I'll tell you. **

_Bailedancer34: yay!! I knew I was persuasive!!! J _

**Hockeyfan101: Don't gloat or I'm not going to tell you. **

_Bailedancer34: Fine. My lips are sealed. :-x_

**Hockeyfan101: Good to know. **

Derek waited two minutes before he started typing. He had no idea how he was going to put this since he didn't want to look like a puss or whatever. It wasn't that important now anyways. He now knew that she loved him and that his fears were completely unnecessary.

_Bailedancer34: You still there? Don't leave like you did before!!! _

**Hockeyfan101: I'm still here. But I don't think I'm going to tell you. **

_Bailedancer34: Why not? You already said you were. _

**Hockeyfan101: I know what I said but I change my mind. It's kind of pointless to tell you now anyways. **

_Bailedancer34: Okay whatever. You don't have to tell me. But you do know that you can talk to me about anything right? _

**Hockeyfan101: I know and I appreciate it. But what I was going to say isn't really important now anyways. **

_Bailedancer34: Okay fine. Listen. I'll talk to you later. I still have a lot of stuff to do. Bye. Love you. _

**Hockeyfan101: love you too. But wait. There is still something that I want to ask you. **

_Bailedancer34: What? _

**Hockeyfan101: Have you changed your mind about us meeting yet? **

_Bailedancer34: Oh that. Well what you said did change things but I'm still not sure. I'll talk to you tomorrow if anything changes. Bye. _

**Hockeyfan101: Bye. **

Derek sighed and signed back off. He was so sure that after he said those words things were going to change but apparently he was wrong.

XXXX

Casey picked up her phone and dialed Emily's number. She had to talk to someone to find out what should she do.

"Hello," Emily said sleepily. It was already midnight.

"Hey Em," she said into the hand held. "Sorry to wake you but I have to talk to someone."

"It's fine. You didn't really wake me, I was just taking a quick nap," she explained. Casey already knew that since Emily was never really asleep at that hour. "So what's up?"

"Well the guy I met online said he loved me," Casey told her friend.

"No shit!" Emily said now completely awake. "That's great! You definitely have to meet him now."

"That's the reason why I needed to talk to you. I know that I should. After all we did say that we loved each other but I'm still not sure."

"You have to stop thinking about it too much and just do it. Like I said a million times before, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

"I guess you're right," Casey said defeated. She finally decided to listen to Emily and finally meet him.

"When am I not!" Emily said cockily and Casey laughed.

"Very funny. Thanks for helping me….again. Talk to you later."

"Bye. Hope everything works out," Emily said then both of them hung up the phone and went back to sleep.

XXXX

It was dinner time the following day and everyone was gathered at the table. Casey was humming and was happier than ever. She was finally going to meet him and everything was going to be a-ok. Her mood wasn't going un-noticed by anyone since she was actually being nice to Derek, which never happens.

Everyone was staring at her wondering what caused the mood of hers.

Derek was the first person to do something about it. He threw a piece of bread at her and when she finally looked up, he said, "What's up with you?"

"Nothing. I'm just happy that's all." She shrugged, and took another bite of her meal. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No." he said. "But you are acting pretty weird. You're smiling more than your usual and you're humming," he said matter of factly. "You don't do those things unless something big has happened."

"She met a guy online," her mother finally chimed in. Casey told her about him right after he said he loved her.

"Mother!" Casey glared at her but she didn't notice and kept on going.

"And is happy that he said he loved her!" her mother finished. Now Casey was really angry. She had told her that she didn't want anyone else to know. Of course it was kind of pointless to duel on it now.

That didn't mean she couldn't be mad about it though. She got up and pushed her chair under the table. "I told you I didn't want anyone else to know! I'm never going to tell you anything ever again!" She yelled at her mom then stormed up the stairs. Her mom was calling after her but she still wouldn't look back and kept on going.

Derek just stared after her, smirking. He finally knew what was getting at her and he found out all by himself.

"Well Derek," Edwin said making Derek turn around facing him. "That would be twenty dollars please," he put his hand out waiting for Derek to pay him.

He laughed. "You're kidding right? I'm not going to pay you since you didn't do anything. I found out from Nora."

"Fine," Edwin said defeated. "Whatever."

"Wait, why does Derek have to pay you in the first place?" George said to Edwin, finally caught up with their conversation.

Derek gave Edwin a death glare meaning that if he so much as mentioned it he would have to eat squashed food for a month. Edwin squirmed in his seat. He really didn't want that to happen. "Oh nothing. It was a joke. He really doesn't have to pay me," he finally said.

"Okay, sure," his father said still skeptical.

"I'm going to go now." Edwin said getting up and pushing his chair under the table. Both Nora and George nodded and he started going up the stairs. Lizzie went after him leaving Derek, Nora, and George, alone at he dinner table. After a few seconds of awkward silence between the three, Derek decided to leave too.

When he got to his room, he flung himself on the bed. He was glad that he finally knew what was bugging Casey. He had no idea why he cared so much and something inside of him made him not want to know. Just then something popped up in his head; something that he should of caught on to long before now.

'_No, that can't be. That's impossible!' he thought to himself_.

How can this be happening! There was no way he could be falling for his…_step sister_...and not even know it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. For entertainment purposes only. **

* * *

**Author's note**: **I sort of changed directions of my story since i thought it would be more interesting this way. I'm pretty sure it fits into the rest of the story so there isn't much you should worry about. **

**So hope you enjoy and please review**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Derek couldn't believe it or rather didn't want to believe it. _'How could this happen.' He thought to himself. _There was no way that he could be falling for his step-sister. He was suppose to _hate _her. Not that he ever did but still. Liking a step-sibling is wrong on so many levels, no matter how hot or cool they may be.

He had to figure out what he was going to do. He couldn't deal with Casey at the moment because he would end up doing something that he might regret afterwards. He had to forget about her somehow and stop thinking about her. So he decided to just focus on his online relationship. At least that wouldn't remind him about anything that had to do with Casey.

He looked at his black colored computer to see if she was on. He had to talk to someone to take his mind off of what he just figured out. As it turns out, she was on. He was so relieved. He double clicked on her screen name and sent her a message.

**Hockeyfan101: Hey sweetie! **

_Bailedancer34: Hey! What's up? _

**Hockeyfan101: Not much. U? **

_Bailedancer34: Nothing much except that everyone in my family now knows about you. _

**Hockeyfan101: Wow. How did that happen? **

_Bailedancer34: Well, my mom blurted it out. I told her after you said you loved me. _

**Hockeyfan101: okay. So, is that a good thing? **

_Bailedancer34: Well yes. It means that we can finally meet. My mother was pretty understanding so we don't have to worry about her reaction. I just hope that my step-father will be that understanding. He seemed pretty cool but I still have to make sure. _

**Hockeyfan101: Are you sure? **

Derek was ecstatic. This is exactly what he needed to forget about Casey.

_Bailedancer34: Completely. There is nothing we have to worry about now. Does your family know? _

**Hockeyfan101: No but I'll tell them since I know that you did and you're finally considering meeting me. **

_Bailedancer34: So it's settled then? _

**Hockeyfan101: yes. How does Friday sound? At 8:30pm?**

_Bailedancer34: Perfect. I'll see you later then? _

**Hockeyfan101: Yep. Can't wait. **

_Bailedancer34: Me too but I have to go. Stuff to do. Talk to you later. Bye_

**Hockeyfan101: bye. Love you. **

_Bailedancer34: love you too. (Bailedancer34 signed off)_

XXXX

It was Friday night and Casey was getting ready for her date with 'mystery guy'. Emily was also there, helping her pick out something to wear. She wanted to look perfect. She already knew what mystery guy was wearing so recognizing him shouldn't be a problem. They were meeting at the diner in London, Ontario. She was glad to go there since she always went there to hang out.

Right now she was trying on a faded jean mini shirt with rhinestones going around the end of the skirt. She was also wearing a pink v-neck blouse. "So what do you think?" she twirled around showing the outfit off when she was done changing.

"You look great." Emily told her friend. "Now we just have to do your hair and make up." Casey nodded and sat down on a chair next to the mirror so Emily could do what she planned on doing. She first took our the curlers in Casey's hair. Then she starting doing her make up.

By the time she was finished it was already time to go. She was starting to get nervous.. What if he doesn't show? What if he's fake? What if he's nothing like he was thought to be? All these thoughts were swirling around in her head. She was beginning to question going.

"Everything's going to be fine, Case." Emily tried to reassure her friend when she noticed Casey's expression. She knew that expression all too well and she knew that she only got that way when she was nervous about something. "Don't worry about it."

"I know that." Casey said trying to sound casual. She didn't want Emily to know she was feeling this way. "I'm fine. I'm just excited, that's all."

Emily gave her a questioning look then smirked, "Sure you are." Casey glared at her and rolled her eyes. Emily then looked at the clock then back at her. "Its time."

She swallowed. She really wasn't ready for this but decided that Emily was right and everything was going to be fine. She put on a fake smile and went out the door. Emily was right behind her. She only stopped to tell Nora and George she was leaving and would be home around 11. She said bye to Emily when she got into the car and started driving to the diner. (don't know the actual name) She got her drivers license a few weeks before her and Max broke up.

When she got there, five minutes later, she parked and got out of the car. She locked the car door and started walking towards the front entrance of the restaurant. Once she got inside, she looked around to see if he was already there. It was 8:30 so he should have been there but the only familiar face that she noticed was Derek. He was wearing the same color shirt that _he_ said he was going to wear but it was a popular color shirt so it was completely impossible for him to be the guy she was talking to online.

Denial much?

She walked up to him so she could find out what he was doing here. Alone. It was odd since he was never really by himself. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked once she reached his table.

He looked up and said, "I could ask you the same thing." He smirked trying to act as casual as possible. Why does she have to be at the same place where he was? Especially tonight of all nights. He was trying to forget about her and now that was never going to happen. "and besides it's really none of your business."

"I know but it is kind of weird that you're here all by yourself." She stated. She was about to say something but before she could, Derek stopped her.

"I'm meeting someone if you must know." He said.

"A girl, perhaps?" she said guessing.

"You guess right." He said. "and now you should really get going. I don't want her to see me with the likes of you."

She glared at him. "I don't get why anyone would ever like you. You're such a child!" she retorted. She got up and stormed off towards another table not noticing the look on Derek's face. She had no idea how much that statement had gotten to him. As much as he tried to shrug it off, that really hurt him. It just showed him how little of a chance he has with Casey.

Casey sat down at the farthest table away from Derek. She looked around again to see if he had come in while she was busy fighting with Derek but she still didn't notice him. _'What's taking him so long?"_ she thought to herself. She was getting impatient. After two minutes, a waiter finally came up to her. She didn't ask for anything because she was still waiting for the guy.

After another twenty minutes and still no sign of the guy, she finally gave in and ordered something. She glanced over at Derek to see if he was having the same luck she was getting. He was. She sighed actually feeling bad for Derek when she saw the depressed look on his face.. No one deserves to be stood up, not even him.

She got up and walked towards the table where he was situated. She decided to make the best of this awful situation since both of them were being stood up. When she got there, Derek looked at her questionably. Casey caught on to this immediately so she said, "Well as it turns out, both of our dates stood us up. So I was thinking that since both of us don't want to be alone, we could make the best of this situation."

Derek made a mental note to kick the guy's ass for standing up Casey. No one hurts her like that and gets away with it. Trying to step out of it, he said, "How do you know I've been stood up though?" Retorted Derek. "Maybe she's just in the bathroom."

"Derek, Don't you think we've lived together long enough to know when something's up?"

"Fine." He said defeated and motioning her to sit down. She did. "You can stay but never tell anyone about this okay?"

She nodded smirking. "Good and I won't." The waiter came just then and asked if they finally wanted anything. They said yes knowing that there dates were never going to show. There was no point in waiting any longer.

As the night wore on, they found out that hanging out with each other wasn't that bad. One could even say it was fun. Not that Derek never thought that of course. Casey was even beginning to feel that Derek wasn't that bad of a guy. She would never admit that though. They were laughing and talking about anything. When the night was over, neither of them wanted to leave but they knew they had to. They paid their bill and walked out the door towards their cars.

They left, neither of them knowing they were each others dates from the very beginning and weren't really stood up.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. _

_Author's note: sort of a short chapter but trust me, the next is going to be longer. So hope you enjoy and please review!!!!  
_

* * *

  
**Chapter 7**

When both of them got home, they went directly up to their room. They wanted to figure out where their suppose-to-be dates were tonight. They said a quick good-bye to each other then started going up the stairs.

They didn't have to stop to say anything to their parents because they were no where in sight. (They could have been, they just weren't paying any attention. They had more important things to deal with.)

When they got to their rooms, they immediately signed on the computer then signed on their IM account. They wanted to see if they were online. They were so they sent them a message at the same exact time. Casey's was the first one to go through though.

_Bailedancer34: Where were you tonight? We were suppose to meet tonight, remember, and you never showed up!? _

**Hockeyfan101: What are you talking about?? I was there. You're the one who wasn't!! **

_Bailedancer34: I was certainly there. The diner; at 8:30 remember?? _

**Hockeyfan101: That's impossible! I would have recognized you if you came and I didn't. What were you wearing anyways? **

_Bailedancer34: a pink shirt with a fade jean mini skirt. _

Derek thought a moment to see if he could recall any one wearing that same outfit. After a minute he could only remember that Casey was wearing an outfit just like that. Actually it _was_ the same outfit.

'_No that's impossible!'_ Derek thought to him self as he realized the implications of the fact that his step-sister and this girl were supposedly wearing the same exact thing. He shook the feeling off and asked a simple question that hopefully proved his theory wrong.

**Hockeyfan101: Was there anyone else there that you knew? **

_Bailedancer34: other than my stupid step-brother? No. Why? _

Derek could barely breathe. No way could this be happening to him. No way could he be falling for his step-sister. again. And in two places for crying out loud. 'This is so not good' he thought to himself.

But as he thought about last couple months, he realized the signs were right in front of him the whole time. They were from the same town, province, and country. They both had some what annoying step-siblings. He liked hockey and she liked balet. (Both of their favorite activities) There were so many other similarities too. There was no way that these things can happen two times; in the same country no less. The possibility of that was zero to none. To make sure his theory was really correct he had to ask her a question that would put all this to rest. For now anyways.

**Hockeyfan101: Just wondering but could you tell me your name? I think we've been talking to each other long enough to tell each other that. **

_Bailedancer34: I guess. My name is Casey. What's yours?_

'great my theory was correct' Derek thought to himself. This was really not good.

**Hockeyfan101: You seriously won't believe this MacDonald, but my name is Derek. **

Casey had to read that twice and again after that to take that last sentence in.

_Bailedancer34: No! Derek Venturie? _

**Hockeyfan101: Sorry. Small world isn't it? **

_Bailedancer34: Yes very. And so not cool. How the hell could this have happened? _

**Hockeyfan101: Well apparently we signed up on the same site and were attracted to each other. And here I thought you hated my guts. **

_Bailedancer34: I do and I wouldn't have talked to you if I knew it was you and I would definatly not fall in love with you!!! I'm going to go now. There is no way this could be actually happening. It's probably just a dream anyways. _

Before Derek could say anything else, Casey had signed off. He sighed and signed off himself. He knew Casey was going to take it that way. This wasn't news that a person can just blow off like it was nothing. He wanted to talk to her about it but that would just have to wait till morning when she cools down and gets over the shock over it all. He just wished that tonight and all the time they had spent talking actually changed her mind about him, just a little. Apparently that was never going to happen.

Then he remembered it was Casey which would mean that it would take her a week or more to get over everything.

XXXX

Casey wanted to go to bed right away. She wanted to forget everything that happened today. She hoped to find that when she wakes up, everything would be just a dream and nothing like this happened. She wouldn't have gotten stood up and never would of found out that she was talking to Derek the whole time.

Even though she knew that it wasn't going to happen that way, it was a good way to fall asleep. She would deal with reality tomorrow. When she could actually think straight, she could deal with this somehow...


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. For entertainment purposes only. _

_Author's note: Hope you enjoy and please review. There will probably be two or less chapters after that this. _

_Thanks for the people who helped me with this chapter (you know who you are)  
_

* * *

  
**Chapter 8**

It was a sunny Saturday morning. Sun rays were streaming through Casey's bed room windows. She was still lying on her bed when her mother cam in to wake her up. It was already 11: 30 and she had to go to work.

"Casey! Casey!" Nora yelled as she sat down on her daughter's bed right next to where she was lying. "Wake up!" She rubbed her shoulders gently.

Casey slightly opened her eyes to see who was calling for her. She realized that it was her mother so she began to wake herself up. She slept pretty well considering the circumstances. "What do you want?" she asked as she sat up a few minutes later.

"You came in pretty late last night so I didn't get a chance to ask you how your date was," she said in anticipation.

Casey just stared at her. Leave it to her to bring up the most awkward conversations right in the morning. "I don't want to talk about it," she finally said.

"What? It couldn't of been that bad," her mother said reassuringly.

"It wasn't, aside from the fact that I got stood up," she told her mother matter of factly.

"What happened?" Nora said, shocked.

Casey was about to tell her but then decided against it. She wasn't ready to tell anyone just yet. Not until she talks to Derek, that is. "Nothing. I told you, I don't want to talk about it. It's not a big deal," she said shrugging it off.

"You can tell me. I'm your mother after all."

"And I told you already I don't want to talk about it. Don't you get that?" she said getting annoyed. Why couldn't her mother just leave her alone.

Nora looked at her dumfounded. Casey usually never acts like this and when she does, something bad has happened. "Fine, you don't have to tell me but when you're ready, I'll be there to talk," she told her and Casey nodded. Then her mother left to let Casey get ready for work. She was already running late since her shift starts in twenty minutes and she couldn't possibly be ready by then. She had to get ready as quick as possible because she was never late. Well, she was when she first started working there but she tried to put that moment behind her considering that fact that that time was the most embarrassing times of her life. She was just thankful that Derek…

_Derek?_ She had forgotten all about the fact that he also worked there. '_Great. How can I face him now?' she thought to herself. _She couldn't even rap her head around what happened last night and now she had to spend the next couple hours with him? Her life just kept getting better and better... NOT!

She sighed and took a shower and got changed into her uniform and went out the door. As much as she didn't want to be around Derek, she knew she had to. She couldn't just skip work; that wasn't like her. When she got down stairs, she took a little snack in the kitchen then went out the front door walking towards the car. She put the key in the ignition and started driving off to work.

XXXX

When she got to work, she did her normal rounds. She hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with Derek but that was shot to hell when she ran into him on her way out of the employee's lounge. Everything she was holding was scattered all over the floor.

"Watch it Derek," she yelled not looking him in the eye. She bent down to pick up her things. "Look what you made me do!" She pointed to all the stuff on the floor.

"I'm sorry Case," he said apologeticly. He bent down to help her pick up everything. When there was only one piece left, they both reached out at the same exact time so they accidentally touched hands. They immediately pulled away awkwardly. The tried to ignore the spark that had occurred when their hands touched.

Perfect way to start the day and how very cliché.

"I better get going," Casey said once she got up still not looking him in the eye. "You know, don't want to upset the boss."

"Yeah, Right," Derek said awkwardly. "But wait, isn't there something we should talk about?"

Casey contemplated it for a moment lightheartedly. No way was she going to talk about that now. "Nope, sorry. Nothing rings a bell," she finally said. She tried to walk away but Derek grabbed on to her so she couldn't.

"You know what I'm talking about, Case," he said looking at her seriously.

"No I really don't," Casey said smirking but when she saw Derek's face, she wiped the smile off of hers. "Okay maybe I do, but I'm not going to talk about this now."

"When do you suppose you will be ready?" he asked.

"I don't know Derek. Probably when I can actually rap my head around this whole situation," she stated.

"Which would mean never?"

"No, I didn't say that," she said, obviously annoyed. "I'll tell you when I'm ready but don't pressure me. That would just make your wait even longer."

"Okay fine. I won't pressure you."

"Thank you." She said then started going off towards the main room leaving Derek staring after her.

XXXX

It was the next day when Casey finally decided to deal with the whole situation. She finally knew what she was going to do. She knocked on Derek's door. She knew he was in there because he had his music on and he never usually did when he wasn't there. She waited a minute before he finally opened the door. "Casey," he said once he realized she was there.

"Hey Derek," she said walking into his room without the proper invitation to go inside. She sat down on his bed and Derek sat down right next to her. There was a moment of temporary awkward silence before Casey finally said, "I think I'm ready."

"Ready for what exactly?" he asked teasingly remembering how she acted the other day.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No I really don't," he said smirking. "Could you please explain it to me?"

Casey just glared at him. She wasn't enjoying this at all. "You aren't going to make this easy for me are you?"

"I was thinking about it but then I realized that there's no fun it that," he joked.

"You're impossible, you know that," she said. "So why do I even bother? You won't be able to deal with what I was going to say anyways," she tried to get up but Derek stopped her.

"Okay fine," he said seriously but he still had a smile on his face. "What's up?"

"I was going to tell you that we should forget about everything that has happened," she explained taking a deep breath. She tried to convince herself that this was the best thing to do no matter how she felt about Derek.

Derek wasn't liking this turn of events at all. "What exactly do you mean?" he asked, scared of what the answer might be.

She took another deep breath and said. "I think we should see other people."

Now that really wiped the smile off of Derek's face. He really wasn't expecting that. They haven't even started dating and now she was telling him that they should date other people? Derek just couldn't believe it. "You're kidding right?" he said finally and Casey just shook her head sadly. Derek couldn't help but stare at her. "So what you're telling me is that the last couple months meant nothing to you?"

"No that's not what I'm saying. Don't put words in my mouth. I'm just saying that I don't think we should bring reality into this," she explained calmly.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Look at our lives Derek! We're step-siblings for Christ sakes. You know that's illegal in Canada right. And not to mention, we hate each other!" she explained. Derek couldn't believe how calm she was being. "Our lives are way too complicated for us to ever work out so what's the point in trying."

"You might be right about all the other stuff but you're definitely wrong about the fact that I hate you. I never really did," he said the last part quietly but Casey could still hear him.

"You don't?" she asked, sounding shocked. For the longest time, she thought that the reason why Derek was so mean to her was because he hated her. Apparently she was wrong. He nodded then she asked, "If you don't hate me, then why were you so mean to me all this time?"

Derek was scared that she would ask him that. He had no idea how to answer that because he didn't even know the answer. "I really don't know," he said honestly. "Maybe it was because I liked seeing you get all rallied up."

Casey glared at him. "I guess I was the same way for the same reason," she told him, "but even so, I still think it's not a good idea for us to date."

"Sure it isn't!" he said rolling his eyes. She really was impossible. "You know, it's only a big deal if you let it be."

"You know how people would react when they find out about us?" she said. "People would never be able to deal with it and I don't think I'm ready to deal with that."

"There is no 'us' Casey.," he pointed out. "_Yet..._" he added. "And the only thing is stopping us being together is you!"

"You forgot the world," she explained. "People would never except us. Especially our parents. I thought you of all people would understand that."

"I do but when I love someone, all those reasons fly out the window."

"So you still love me even though you know who I am?" she asked, taken aback. She was sure that once he knew that she was the one who he was talking to, he would be reacting the same way she was.

"Yes. I do. And don't look at me like that," he said once he noticed her expression. She was looking at him with a mystified look on her face. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me! How can I just let that go!"

"That was online Derek! Not in real life."

"So what?" he said moving a tiny bit closer to her. "Why does online have to be any different from the real world?"

"Because it does, okay," she said shifting farther away from Derek. She wanted this to be over. "To me they are different—"

"They're only different if you let them be." He argued trying to make Casey understand his viewpoint on this particular subject. He moved closer to her yet again. "Look at me Casey," he said to her. She wasn't looking at him the whole time, and it was starting to get on his nerves. She hesitated for a moment then finally looked up so they were looking straight at each other. "And just answer me this and then I'll leave you alone." She nodded. "Do you have any feelings for me?"

Casey was scared of this. She had no idea what to say. "No I don't," she lied knowing that it was the only way that Derek would leave her alone. The truth was that she did. One could even say it was love but no way was she going to tell Derek that.

Derek frowned at her. "Are you sure about that?" He was still not believing her..

"Yes I am." She said.

"Okay fine. Just one last thing." She looked at him confused and he moved closer to her and just like that his lips crashed upon hers. She was surprised at first and didn't know what to do but she decided to let her guard down and just go with the flow. She responded after a moment which surprised Derek. He was sure that she would push him away but apparently he was wrong. They kept on kissing for a two minutes before Casey finally pushed him away.

"Derek we can't do this," she said out of breathe.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me_

_Author's note: Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the delay. I had trouble writing this chapter. I had to rewrite it 3 times. This is what i came up with and didn't actually hate so hope you enjoy. _

_Thanks to all the people who reviewed. I really appriciate it! and also a special thanks to luvvin Cody Linley who edited it and wrote the fabulos ending to this chapter. _

_And by the way, I lied when i only said that there would be two more chapters. I going to expand it since i forgot about a few things that i had to do. and just a heads up...i love angst so be warned. It's not going to be an easy ride.  
_

* * *

  
**Chapter 9**

For a few short minutes, Casey and Derek were in complete bliss. They never felt happier in their whole lives. They couldn't believe how good it felt to be in each other's arms. They never wanted this moment to end even though they knew it had to eventually. For now, they were just trying to enjoy the moment for as long as possible.

When Casey finally came to her senses, she broke the kiss. "_Derek, we can't do this!" _she panted as she pushed him away.

"Sure we can't," he said sarcastically. He went to kiss her again and even though she didn't protest and actually responded, she pulled away almost immediately.

"Derek," she hissed. "PLEASE STOP! I don't want this! Why can't you get that?" She was more trying to convince her self rather than him.

"Because as much as you try to convince yourself," she sighed. He knew her way too well. "I know it's not true. If it was, you wouldn't have kissed me back," he reasoned. He went into to kiss her again but to make her point, she pushed away before his lips touched hers. Even though she wanted it, no way was she going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" she tried to tell him.

"I'm pretty sure I do," he said smugly.

"No. I'm pretty sure you don't," she retorted. "You have no idea how I feel so don't try and make it seem like you do."

"Oh really. How could I possibly know?" he retorted back. "But let me take a whack at it. You want to be with me but you're scared. Scared of people's reactions, especially our parents and classmates. Scared of getting your heart broken or actually having fun with me!"

Casey sighed. '_Damn he's good!' she thought. _Everything he said was true. She was scared of all those things. "So what if all those are true? They're all valid concerns," she finally said.

"Yeah they are but sometimes you have to forget about all that and just follow your heart," he told her.

"Yeah but what if I'm not ready? What if I can't let go of those things?" she asked him.

"Then let me show you," he offered. "One date. It's all I ask. Just one date to show you that you don't have to worry about those things and everything will be fine!"

Casey contemplated it for a moment. She was seriously considering accepting his offer. After all what's the worst that could happen. "Okay Derek," she said finally. "We can go out one night."

Derek smiled. He was happy that he finally got her to agree. "Great. How does this Friday sound?"

"That sounds good," she said also smiling. "How about 8:00?"

"Also good," he agreed. "I'll see you then or before then—what ever comes first."

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll see you later. I still have some homework to do."

"Of course you do. When have you not had homework," he joked and Casey threw him a dirty look which just made Derek smile. Casey also was smiling. "Bye Derek," she said before leaving. Derek just waved at her then she was gone.

XXXX

It was finally the night of Casey's and Derek's big date. They decided to meet at Smelly Nellie's since if they went together, it would seem weird and their parents would ask questions. Neither of them were ready for that just yet.

Casey went down the stairs dressed in a pink tang top and a black mini skirt. Derek only said that she should wear something nice since they were going somewhere nice. Derek didn't say anything else since it was suppose to be a surprise. As much as she hated surprises, she was really looking forward to this evening.

She waved good-bye to her parents then headed out the door. She got into her car and drove off to their already discussed meeting location. When she got there, she drove around the parking lot looking for Derek's car. After driving around for about a minute, she finally spotted it. It was near the end of the parking lot next to a black SUV and a blue Mercedes Bens. She waved to him to show him she was there. He was waiting outside the back of the car. She then looked for a parking spot around the same area. She finally spotted one after a few seconds. It was in the row behind Derek's car. Once she parked she got out of the car, locked it and started walking towards Derek.

Once she got to him, she said, "Hey Derek!" they shared a quick kiss on the lips.

"Hey. You look great!" she smiled.

"Why thank you! You don't look half bad yourself," she told him. "So where are you taking me?"

He shook his head. "No, no, no. It's suppose to be a surprise!" He took her hand and led her towards the passenger side of his car and opened the door for her. After she got in, he closed the door and walked towards the other side of the car. He got in and started driving off to where they were going.

They got there in ten minutes. Casey had no idea where they were so she looked around to see if she could recognize anything. When she couldn't, she asked, "Where are we?"

"We, my friend, are at the most popular restaurant in all of London, Canada." He told her as he turned off the car.

Casey's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. Look around to see for yourself."

She did what she was told and saw a sign that indicated that Derek was right. '_How could I've missed this?' she thought to herself. _"I can't believe this," she said excitedly. "I always wanted to go here!"

Derek smiled. He was glad that she was enjoying herself. "I'm glad you like it. Now lets go. Don't want to be late."

Casey laughed. "That's something I've never thought I'd hear out of your mouth. But then again this whole week has been filled with surprises."

"Yep, definitely," he said as he got out of the car. He went to open the door for Casey but she stopped him.

"No you don't have to. I'll do it," she told him and he nodded. She opened the door and went up to Derek. "Shall we?" she asked.

"We shall." He took her hand and then walked towards the entrance of the building. Once inside they stood in line so someone could seat them. They waited 3 minutes before they were at the front of the line.

"Name please," the waiter asked.

"Venturi." He told the waiter.

He looked down the list and once he found the name, he said, "Right this way." He led them to this table at the far end of the dinning area. They sat down then the waiter left.

"Derek I can't believe you did this," she told him smiling at him. "This place is amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it," he said also smiling. "Just wait till you try the food. It's to die for."

"I bet," she said looking around the restaurant. She gasped when she reached the middle of the dinning room. She couldn't believe what she saw

"What?" he said confused.

"Look over there." She point at the middle of the room. Once Derek realized where she was pointing too, he also gasped.

"What are they doing here?" he asked shocked. "And tonight of all nights." He rolled his eyes.

"I know seriously." She said. "Let's just hope that they don't see us." But it was too late. They already noticed them and were coming towards them. "Scratch that. They're coming."

"What?" he said looking around and saw that Emily and Sheldon were coming up to them. "Oh great!" he said under his breath.

"Casey! Derek!" Emily said once they reached their table. "What are you guys doing here? Together?"

Derek and Casey looked at each other. Neither of them knew what to say. "Um Emily could I talk to you for a moment?" Casey finally said. She didn't want to talk about it hear where other people could overhear.

"Okay sure." Emily agreed. "Sheldon, I'll be right back." She kissed him quickly on the lips and followed Casey toward the restrooms. Once they got inside the women's restroom, Emily asked, "So what's up?"

"We're in here since I don't want anyone else to know," she said as she looked under all the stalls to see if anyone was there. No one was so it was okay for her to tell her.

"Okay…" Emily said confused.

"Me and Derek are on a date!" she told her best friend.

Emily was shocked. She really wasn't expecting that. "I must have heard you wrong. You can't be on a date with Derek."

"Well I am. And please keep this a secret. I don't want the whole school to know." She pleaded.

"Sure okay," she said sill not being able to grasp this whole situation. "How the hell did this happen?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Okay fine." She sighed. "You remember the guy I meet on line?" Emily nodded. "It turned out to be Derek." Emily gasped. She really really wasn't expecting _that._ "And I didn't know until I thought I was stood up when really I wasn't. He was there the whole time and I was just so stupid to notice what was right in front of me." She paused. "I found out when I got home when he told me his name."

"Wow. You must have been so embarrassed." Casey nodded. "How could you not know though? I mean wouldn't you be just the least bit curious after he told you he had an annoying step-sister, lived in the same area, and played hockey?"

"Not something I would like to think about Em," she explained. "I never thought that because it was impossible to me at the time. I just thought it was a coincidence." She shrugged.

"A pretty big coincidence if you ask me." Emily pointed out

Casey glared at her. "You were as clueless as I was."

"True." She said defeated. "Point taken. I think we should go. Don't want to keep are dates waiting."

"Okay." They left the restroom and walked towards where Derek and Sheldon were sitting.

XXXX

Meanwhile, Derek and Sheldon were talking about the same thing Emily and Casey were talking about.

"So what are you really doing here?" Sheldon asked.

"None of your business." He told him. He really didn't want to talk about this right now and besides he had no idea if Casey even wanted him to tell Sheldon.

"Come on Derek." He pleaded. "Just tell me. It can't be that bad."

"No."

"Please?"

"Why do you want to know so bad anyways?"

"I don't know. I just do okay." Sheldon shrugged.

"Okay fine I'll tell you," he said after awhile. "As long as you promise not to tell anyone okay?"

"I won't," he promised.

"Good. Me and Casey are on a date," he said quietly but loud enough so Sheldon could hear him.

"You're joking right," he said, eyes widened. "You and Casey can't be on a date. You guys hate each other. And not to mention you guys are also step-siblings."

"So? And we definitely don't hate each other."

"I can see that but still. Isn't dating your step-sister incest?"

"No. We didn't grow up together and we aren't blood related," he explained. "So that's completely irrelevant to our whole situation."

"Oh but it's still odd," he pointed out. "How do your parents feel about this?"

"They don't know yet," he told him, "and we don't plan on telling them anything anytime soon."

Sheldon was about to say something else but the girls came up before he could.

"Hey guys." Casey greeted them then sat down where Sheldon was sitting but got up when he saw Casey coming followed by Emily. Sheldon was giving her a weird look which confused her but after a while realized what it was for. She leaned over towards Derek. "So you told him?" she muttered.

"Yeah but you told Emily," he muttered back.

"You don't know that," she countered.

"Why else would you have to talk to Emily in private?" he asked.

"Okay. Point taken," she said beaten. She turned back to Emily and Sheldon who were no where to be found. Apparently they had left when they were having there little conversation. "I guess they left."

"Apparently." He shrugged. Truthfully he didn't really care that they left. All he wanted to do was to spend some alone time with her.

About five minutes later, the waiter finally came. They ordered their drinks and food at the same time which would come 20 minutes later. Once Emily and Sheldon left, they were having a great time. They were eating, laughing, and talking about everything. Nothing was off limits. They weren't worrying about anything. Nothing that bugged them in the past seemed to matter. They knew that that feeling would have to end sometime but for now they were just trying to enjoy the moment.

They seemed to be having a good time until they saw one more couple on a date that they didn't seem to know about.

"Mom!" Casey said in a loud whisper. "Dad?" Derek asked, nervous of what could come next, since their parents were staring right at them, and they definitely were not smiling...


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me...

Here's the next chapter. Probably not what you would expect but hope you still enjoy. Anyways, thanks to all the people who sent all the wonderful feedback. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it! and another thanks to Luvvin Cody Linley who edited this chapter for me. I love all you guys. 8)

Authors note: Again this story is going to be much longer than i anticipated. Probably another 5 or 6 chapters.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_"Mom!" Casey said in a loud whisper. _

_"Dad?" Derek asked, nervous of what could come next, since their parents were staring right at them, and they definitely were not smiling..._

Nora and George walked towards them. They were still looking at them disgracefully. Once they got up to them, Casey and Derek both put on fake smiles and Casey asked, "What are you guys doing here? What about the kids?"

"We got a babysitter," her mother explained shrugging her shoulders. "But that isn't important. What's important is what you guys are doing here!"

Derek and Casey exchanged looks. How were they going to explain this to them. Emily and Sheldon were easy since they were their friends and could actually support them no matter what. Their parents, however, would be a different story. They would never approve. They had Edwin, Marti, and Lizzie to think about. They would never understand, especially Marti.

"We're waiting!" she said tapping her left foot on the ground impatiently.

"It's not what it looks like!" Casey finally said. She couldn't think of any other logical solution to there current predicament so that would have to do.

"Oh really?" she said in a condescending tone. "Tell me then, what is really going on here?"

"Nothing. We're just having dinner. That's all," she tried to convince them but they were still not buying it.

"I think that's the first time you've ever lied to me," Nora told her daughter. "I'm really disappointed in you."

"I'm not lying," she cried. "It's the truth. We're only having dinner!"

"Okay fine," her mother said defeated. She wanted to give her daughter the benefit of the doubt even though she knew that she was lying. "I'll see you guys when you get home." She left and headed towards the exit with George following behind her.

"That was close," Derek said relieved once George and Nora left.

Casey wasn't so sure. Her mother never gave in that easily. Something was definitely up. "I don't know Derek. They never give in that easily!"

"So?" he said. "You have to stop analyzing every single thing. Not everything has a double meaning."

Casey sighed. Maybe Derek had a point. Maybe she did think into things too much. She just had to find a way to stop it. "Maybe your right," she said. "We probably have nothing to worry about."

"Aren't I always?" he smirked.

Casey just scowled at him. "Cocky much?" she countered. They stayed there for another half hour before they decided that it was time that they should head out. They paid there bill and headed out the door. They got into Derek's car and drove off towards their house.

After twenty minutes of driving, they finally got home. It took them an extra five minutes since they had to pick up Casey's car from _Smelly Nelly's_. They got out of the car and walked half way before meeting up with each other. They walked the rest of the way hand in hand. Once they got to the door step, they stopped and turned to each other looking deep into the other's eyes.

"So, I had fun tonight," Casey told him.

"Me too," he smiled. "We should definitely do this again sometime."

"I'd like that," she said grinning.

He raised his eye brow. "I thought you said that this would be a one time deal?"

"Well, I changed my mind," she smiled up at him. "I had a great time tonight with you."

"I'm glad to hear that. I did too." He grinned back at her. He moved closer and crashed his lips on to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. She moaned opening her mouth so Derek's tongue could ender her mouth to explore it. They were like that for about a minute before they broke apart and went inside. They went in separately so they could avoid any suspicious behavior. Nora and George were still not home. They both wondered where they could be. They left before they did. They sent the babysitter home with her check and went upstairs.

Little did they know that two younger siblings by the window were watching them the whole entire time.

XXXX

Edwin peaked out from behind the curtain to see if Casey and Derek were still there. They weren't so Lizzie and Edwin both got out of there hiding spot and went over and sat down on the couch. Both had there mouths wide open from the shock they got from seeing their two oldest step-siblings making out on the front step of there family's home.

"How could this have happened?" Lizzie asked not really expecting an answer. She knew that Edwin was as clueless as she was.

"I have no idea," Edwin responded, "but behind all their fighting, I knew that this would happen eventually."

"Care to explain?"

"Well you know how they always fight." Lizzie looked at him with a what-do-you-think?-yes expression on her face. "According to my research, when teenagers fight as much as Casey and Derek do, it usually means that they're hot for each other." He took out his binder which was right beside him on the couch and opened it to the page that he wanted Lizzie to see.

Once she looked at all the statistics, she asked, "How did you find out about this stuff?"

"TV, books, reality….everything really," he explained taking the binder away from her.

"Oh, okay" she said. "So what do you think we should do?"

"I've been thinking about that but I'm not sure," he answered. "But we could use it as blackmail."

"But we don't have any proof," Lizzie pointed out.

"Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie, Haven't you been living with me long enough to know that I never forget anything when it comes to spying?" He took out his mini-camera and showed it to lizzie.

Lizzie just hit herself on the side of her head playfully. "Oh right, how could I have possible forgotten?" she replied sarcastically. "So what do you plan on using it for?"

"Very good question. Derek and Casey probably don't want anyone to know, so if we play our cards right, we could use that to our advantage," he said smugly. "We could get out of anything!"

"Yeah sure," she said still not believing it was that good of an idea. "What ever. We should go before anyone finds us. We're suppose to be in bed and I think I just heard Mom and George come up the drive way." Edwin nodded and they headed up the stairs smiling evilly to themselves thinking about all possibilities of using this tape.

XXXX

Casey and Emily were in the women's restroom reapplying their make up.

When Emily was done applying hers, she asked, "So are you still going to Max's party on Saturday night?"

Casey paused for a moment. "Actually no." She couldn't elaborate because she was scared that there were other people in the restroom who were listening on there conversation.

"Ah," Emily said knowingly. "So where is _D_ taking you now?"

"Em!" She cried.

"Relax Casey," she said laughing. "No one is going to find out. No one knows who _D _stands for so stop being so paranoid."

"Okay, okay." She said taking a deep breath. Emily was right. _D_ could stand for a lot of different things. No one would automatically assume that she was talking about Derek. "He's taking me to this little Italian restaurant over in the next town," she finally said.

"Oh That sounds romantic," she told her.

"Yeah," she said smiling. "I just have to figure out a way to keep the parents from knowing." She knew that if they got caught this time, her parents wouldn't be so trusting.

"Just say that you're coming with me to Max's party. You can meet there and leave when it's clear," she suggested.

"That's a great idea, Em," she told her. "Thanks. You're a great friend."

"I try," she said jokingly.

"Interesting, very interesting," they heard a small voice say as one of the stalls opened.

The two best friends stared wide-eyed at the person standing right in front of them.

* * *

_Author's note: Haha, another cliff hanger. Sorry but i couldn't resist. lol. Anyways, who do you think it is?? _

_Please review and i'll update sooner. (or when ever i get the time) _


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. For entertainment purposes only! _

_Heres the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews. I really appriciate it. and another special thanks to Luvvin Cody linley for editing this chapter for me. Please review!!!  
_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_"Interesting, very interesting," they heard a small voice say as one of the stalls opened. The two best friends stared wide-eyed at the person standing right in front of them._

"Lizzie, what are you doing here?" Casey asked shocked to see her little sister at her school.

Lizzie hadn't thought of that. Of course she should have but for some unknown reason she didn't. She just had to figure out an excuse. And fast. "I…umm…well…" she stuttered then decided to just blame it all on Edwin. "Edwin put me up to it!" she finally said pretty fast but Casey and Emily could still understand her.

"Umm, why?" Casey asked her little sister.

"He wanted me to spy on you," she explained. Hopefully should wouldn't ask anymore questions.

"And why is that?"

"We saw you and Derek making out."

Casey's mouth dropped open. She could swear that no one was there with them. Of course she wasn't really paying attention but still. The babysitter specifically said that they were in bed. How could of they had left without the babysitter knowing. "That's impossible," she finally said. "You guys were in bed. The babysitter said so."

"You know how clueless Marissa can be," Lizzie pointed out and Casey nodded. She knew what she was talking about. "As long as she's watching TV, she won't notice anything."

"Okay I can definitely see that but where were you guys?"

"We were looking out from behind the curtain on the far right side of the door." Lizzie explained.

"Who's idea was this?" Casey asked again.

"Wasn't it made pretty clear that it was Edwin's idea?" she said as if it was obvious. "He's always in charge of our spying adventures."

"Okay then. I'll have a little talk with him when we get home." She sighed. "And Lizzie never do this again." Just then, she remembered something, "And that reminds me, how did you get here anyways?"

"I walked," she said shrugging.

"Lizzie," Casey cried. "You know you aren't aloud to walk on that road! You could of got hurt."

"Don't worry about it, Casey. Look I'm fine," she told her. "I'm fine aren't I?"

"Yeah but I'm going to Have to call mom and George so they can pick you up. I can't take you home since I have class," Casey explained.

"Fine," she pouted.

"Oh and another thing, don't tell anyone about me and Derek okay!" Lizzie nodded and they headed out down the hall towards the attendance office so they could call Mom and George so one of them could pick Lizzie off and drop her off at school. Emily waved good bye and headed towards her next class.

XXXX

It was lunch time the same day. Derek was having lunch with his friends when Casey took him away to a secluded corner of the room so no one would hear them.

Once they stopped, Derek asked, "What do you want now Casey?"

"Lizzie and Edwin know," Casey told him.

"Know what?" Derek asked confused.

"You know, our little arrangement," she explained and Derek nodded in understanding. "Lizzie came to school today and me and Em caught her spying in the girls restroom."

"How did they find out?" he asked her.

"They were watching by the window apparently."

"But didn't the babysitter say that they were in bed?"

"Apparently they weren't," she explained. "They probably snuck out when Marissa was watching TV or something."

"Why would they even want to sneak out in the first place?"

"How should I know? I don't know why they do things!" she said in a loud whisper.

"Wow is the Casey McDonald actually admitting she doesn't know everything? I never thought I'd see the day!"

She scowled at him. "You know what, you can be so obnoxious sometimes."

"But you love me anyways!" he said smirking.

"Umm, no I don't," she countered trying to hide the smile which was forming on her lips.

"Yes you do. Come on just admit it."

"We should go," she said trying to change the subject. However when she saw him put on a fake frown she smiled sweetly up at him to show him she was just joking. "Don't want to make them suspicious."

Derek nodded then they headed off towards there friends.

XXXX

Right when they got home, both Derek and Casey went up to Lizzie and Edwin's room to have a little chat. When they got up there, they knocked on the door. Fortunately they were already there.

"Derek. Casey," Edwin said once he opened the door. Lizzie was on the bed staring up at them. "What a pleasant surprise." He motioned them to go inside and they did. They sat down right next to Lizzie. "So what brings you guys up to our humble abode?"

"We need to talk to you about what you saw the other night." Derek said right away. "Why were you guys thinking spying on us like that?" he said angrily.

"We just wanted to see who it was," Edwin said innocently .

"Oh really? When was the last time you ever did something like that?" he asked.

"We always do," Lizzie chimed in shrugging her shoulders.

"Then why do you never do that when we're babysitting?" Casey asked her sister.

"Because we always have other things to do. Marissa was already watching TV, and well, you know how boring the house can get." Lizzie explained. "It was the only fun thing we could do."

"Whatever," Derek said impatiently. "Now lets just cut to the chase; what you saw the other night isn't something we want spread around so keep quiet okay. And if you so happen to open your mouth," he looked at both Edwin and Lizzie, "you will regret it. You got me?"

Edwin and lizzie both nodded there heads and Derek smiled. "Good to hear. Now go back to what ever you to were doing before." Casey and Derek pushed themselves off the bed and walked out the door leaving the two younger siblings alone in their room


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. For entertainment purposes only. _

_Author's note: Again thank you for all who left those wonderful reviews. I can't thank you enough. and also another special thanks to luvvin Cody linley for editing this chapter for me. _

_So hope you enjoy and please review:)_

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Emily and Casey were sitting together at lunch. It was the following day. While Emily was rambling over who-knows-what, Casey wasn't paying any attention and rather staring at Derek. He was even staring back. It wasn't completely obvious though; they made sure of that. If it was, they would have to explain themselves and they really didn't want to at the moment, if ever. They wanted to avoid any similar circumstances of events that happened in the past.

It took another minute before Emily realized what Casey was doing. She waved her hand in front of her face to try and distract her but it didn't work so she threw a piece of her fry at her instead. This time it actually worked. "God, what was that for?" She asked once her face was turned back to Emily.

"You were staring again," Emily told her.

"I was?" Emily nodded. "I was, wasn't I?" she giggled nervously.

"Yeah, but you should really stop doing that. Someone is bound to notice," Emily pointed out.

"I know but I can't help it!" she explained.

"Of course you can't." Emily rolled her eyes. "But I do know how it feels to be smitten by Derek Venturi though," she said the last part quietly so no one would over hear them.

"Of yeah. I forgot you used to like him. You're okay with me dating him right?"

"Of course I am. You're my best friend and I'm happy for you guys. And besides I have Sheldon to keep me company."

"Oh yeah right. Where is he anyways?"

"I have no clue actually. He said he had to meet with his math teacher but I'm not sure." She shrugged.

"Hmm, How's your relationship going?"

"Pretty well. We're going to _Marienbad's _on Friday night."

"Fancy. What's the occasion?"

"It's our sixth month anniversary. Remember?" Emily said as if it was obvious.

"Oh, right. How could I have possibly forgotten?" She slapped herself on the side of her head playfully.

"It's fine. Anyways it's going to be so romantic. I'm going to wear this black silk dress which goes all the way to my ankles." She explained.

"Cool," she said. Just then the bell rang, so they got up and threw their food out. Then they headed out the door towards their next period class. Of course they had to stop briefly to have Casey say a little something to Derek before they headed off.

XXXX

_Meanwhile, over at Derek's table: _

"….and so I need a ride to our next hockey game on Saturday okay?" Derek only nodded He wasn't really listening to him since he was to busy doing something else. That's when Sam got the strange notion that he wasn't paying any attention to him so he asked, "Are you even listening?" he waved his hand in front of his face to get his attention. It only worked since Casey had already broken the eye contact.

He turned back to Sam. "Yeah, I am….what were you saying?" he asked.

He sighed. "That's what I thought." He said annoyed. "I was telling you that I need a ride to Saturday's game."

"Oh okay. You can come with us." He suggested.

"Yeah I was kind of implying that," he said rolling his eyes. "What's up with you anyways? You seem lost or something."

"I'm fine. Just tired that's all."

"Sure you are," he said raising his eyebrow not believing a word he's saying. "Come on Derek, just tell me."

He thought about it for a moment stroking his chin jokingly. "Umm nope, sorry. No can do," he finally said, "and besides I already told you that nothing's up."

"Okay fine. Don't tell me!" he said annoyed. He was still not believing him.

"Good. I wasn't planning to," he told him. "Now lets change the subject please."

"Okay lets." Sam responded and they did. They talked about hockey, girls (which made Derek very uncomfortable.) and a lot of other stuff. When Casey left the room and waved at him, Derek got distracted. This time Sam actually noticed it but decided on not saying anything. If Derek wouldn't even tell him then he probably didn't want anyone else to know, let alone talk about. Of course, being his best friend and all, he still wanted to know what was going on. Since there next class was Study Hall, Sam thought it was the perfect place for them to talk about it without the fear of anyone overhearing them. They would just have to pass notes instead. That way there was no way that anyone would know what they were talking about.

Since the bell rang, they got up, threw out their food, and walked out the door, walking towards their next class. Once they got there, they sat down near the back Derek sitting in front of Sam. Kendra and Max were also sitting near that area. Once they sat down, they said a quick 'hi' and then went back to their own business. (Max and Derek became friend or more like acquaintances a few months ago.) Once the bell rang for the second time and the teacher said 'everyone be quiet,' Sam began to write his note to Derek. When he was done he tapped on Derek's left shoulder.

"What?" Derek whispered. Sam handed him his note. He took it then turned back around to face the white board. He unfolded the note then read it. It said:

_What's up with you and Casey?_

He sighed. '_Are we that obvious?' he thought to himself. _He then began to write his response. When he was done he passed it back to Sam. He took it, unfolded it and began reading its content:

_Nothing's going on with me and Casey! What gave you that idea?_

He passed it back to Derek. It said:

_You were staring at her at lunch and when she was leaving you waved to her. Not usually common occurrences. _

Derek sighed again after reading the note. They really have to stop being so obvious. He wrote his response then passed it again. The contents were:

_Okay fine. I'll tell you as long as you don't tell a living soul. Promise? _

He read the note and began writing his response. Then Sam passed it back to Derek. It read:

_Promise. _

It took Derek a minute to finish writing his response before sending it back to Sam. It said:

_Okay good. As you probably could tell by now, she and I are now dating._

Sam read the note as soon as it was passed back. Even though he sort of knew that this was coming, it still came as a shock. Never in a million years did he ever think that Derek and Casey would ever date. From the moment they met, they were always down each others throats. Of course Sam had to admit, he always thought that there was some underlining sexual tension between them but he never thought twice about that, being Derek's friend and all.

After he got over the initial shock of it all, he began writing another response. It said:

_How did this happen? _

When he was done, he passed it back to Derek. He read it then wrote his response which said:

_Well we kind of meet online on accident. (She was the girl online who I told you about) The test is a very long story. _

Derek passed it back to Sam. He read it then wrote his response with read:

_Is it really a long story or do you just don't want to talk about it?_

He passed it back. When Derek was done reading he began writing his response.

_It's both really. _

He passed it back to Sam.

_Well if that's the case then you're going to have to tell me. We have plenty of time. _

He passed it to Derek.

_Okay fine I'll tell you but let me tell you this is going to be a long message. _

He passed it to Sam when he was done.

_I don't care. Just tell me already. _

He passed it back to Derek after he read it and wrote his response.

_Here's the story. At first we didn't know we were talking to each other (which you probably could tell) We only found out after we thought we were stood up when we really weren't. We realized that when we talked after we got home. We were really freaked at first; her more than me. (I kind of had a little crush on her before all this went down— if you tell anyone, I'll pummel you or just deny it.) Anyways, Casey only agreed when I promised it would only be for one date. Fortunately for me, after our first date, she had so much fin that she agreed to a second, and a third, and so on. And that's my story. Again if you tell anyone, I'll pummel you. Told you it was going to be a long story._

After ten minutes, he was finally done. He folded up the piece of paper and passed it back to Sam. He grabbed it and began to read the letter. It took him five minutes for him to read the whole thing. He wasn't able to response because just then the bell rang. He stuffed it in to his back pack then flung it over his shoulder and left the class room with Derek. Little did he know that when he put his back pack over his shoulder, the piece of paper had fallen out. It was there for anyone to pick it up and someone did. Max was the one who picked it up. Once he read it, he was very surprised of what he had found. He never thought it was possible for Casey and Derek to date. He thought that they had hated each other considering how much they fought. To find out what he should do with this information, he went to Kendra. She would know what to do.

He walked over to Kendra and handed her the letter. "Look what I found!"

She looked over the piece of paper. "What is it?"

"Read it." He opened the letter for her and she did. Once she was done, her mouth was dropped open. "Where did you find this?"

"Over by Sam's desk." He said pointing over where Sam used to be sitting.

Kendra looked over at where Max was pointing when she finally came up with an idea. "So Derek and Sam wrote this?" Max nodded confused. Didn't he already clarify that? "You know what we could do with this?"

"No what?" he said wondering what she was talking about.

She rolled her eyes. "You can be so stupid sometimes." She laughed while Max scowled at her. "Come here." She moved closer to him and whispered something in his ear. When they separated, both of them were grinning. They gave each other high fives and said at the same time:

"It's on!"

"Too bad for Casey and Derek. They will never know what hit them," they said evilly. They both had held kind of a grudge at Casey and Derek for breaking their relationship only to say "I met someone else who is better than you."


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. For entertainment purposes only_

_Author's note: Sorry for the delay. I've been gone for the last couple days. But here it is and hope you enjoy and please review. _

_also another special thanks to Luvvin Cody linley for editing this chapter for me. And also a thanks to all the people who reviewed. I really appriciate it. You guys are the best!!! _**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Max peaked out of the corner to see if anyone was heading his way. Even though he knew that the possibility of someone coming was highly unlikely (it was only 5:30.) there was no harm in making sure.

When he saw no one coming, he got out of his hiding spot and tip-toed his way towards the copy room where he was suppose to meet Kendra. He didn't know exactly why they were meeting there but he suspected it had to do with the note they found in study hall the other day.

When he got there, Kendra was already there waiting for him. When she heard someone enter, she turned around immediately. She sighed in relief when she realized it was Max. In less than a second, her relieved expression turned into a scowl. "What took you so long?" she asked angrily.

"I'm only five minutes late!" he stated also annoyed "Not that big of deal if you ask me and don't tell me you've never been late before either!"

"I have but that isn't important. What's important is getting started on this revenge plot we've got going on. We don't have a lot of time!"

"Okay." He walked over to where Kendra was standing. She was over by the copier looking a something. When he got over, he saw that she was looking at the same letter they found the other day in study hall. "So what are we going to do with it?"

"Look around," she said moving her hand all around the room to show him all the items that were in there. "What do you think we're going to do with it?"

"Make copies?" she suggested even though he knew it was the right answer.

"Exactly." She said grinning. "Then we're going to put them all around school!"

"Good idea but what if we get caught?" he asked.

"We won't. I'll make sure of that!" she told him. "Now lets get started. Again we don't have tons of time." And they started. When they were done, it was only six. '_We made pretty good time,' they both thought._ Before they left, they looked around to see if they were leaving any evidence behind. They weren't so they picked up the all paper and left the room locking the door behind them. Once they were outside of the door, they decided to split up. They started throwing the papers once they were on opposites sides of the hall. They threw them right and left until every hall in the school was covered with these papers. They also taped a few on every few lockers through out the school

When they were all done, they met up at the back door. It was the only door that was ever left unlocked. They smiled at each other knowingly once they met up then headed out of the school with out anyone knowing the two of them were ever there.

XXXX

_That morning: _

Derek walked up to his friends which were standing by there lockers. Luckily for them, all there lockers were situated around the same location.

"Hey guys!" he greeted them once he was standing right next to them. It took them awhile for them to realize he was there since all of them were deep into there own conversation.

When they turned around to face him, Derek realized that the conversation they were having before he came, was about him. He could tell by the way they were all looking at him. However he couldn't exactly pinpoint why they were talking about him. He knew he was a popular guy but no one has ever talked about him this intently before. It was almost as if they knew about his relationship with Casey but he shook off that feeling immediately. There was no way that they could have found out. The only people that knew were Emily, Sam, Sheldon, Lizzie and Edwin. And he knew that they would never do anything that hurtful to them. They promised them! Of course he was never one to put much faith in promises since he broke them so often but these were his friends and he actually trusted them.

Just to make sure they weren't, he asked, "What's going on?"

"Oh nothing. Nothings up. What makes you think something's up?" one of his friends asked nervously. That definitely clarified for him that something was up.

"Well that answer for one," he stated. "and for two, you guys are acting really strange," he added. "So just tell me!"

They all hesitated for a moment before handing him a crumpled up piece of paper. They all decided that the note really spoke for itself so that was no need for them to explain it any further.

Once he was done flatting out the piece of paper, he began reading its contents. When he was done, he gasped. It was a copy of the conversation that him and Sam were having in study hall. How could anyone find this? He was sure that Sam had it. Unless he accidentally dropped it when he was putting it in his back pack of course. He would kill Sam if that was actually the case. He had to know that he should be extra special careful with that sort of thing. If they ever got into the wrong hands, it could cause serious damage to anyone who is involved.

Just look at what's happening know!

"Where did you find this?" he asked when he was able to gather all of his thoughts.

"They're all around school." Sam told him. "Someone must have found our conversation and sent it all around school!"

"So it's true!" interjected another one of his friends. "You're actually going out with your step-sister?"

But Derek ignored him. He couldn't deal with any of this right now. Not until he knew the whole situation. "How could have anyone had found that though? I thought you had it!" Derek asked Sam.

Sam suddenly looked guilty as if he thought this whole situation was his fault. (Well it kind of is) "I might have accidentally dropped it when I was putting it into my bag," he admitted.

He shook his head angrily. Of course something like this just had to happen. Nothing can ever go smoothly. Casey was going to flip but knowing her, she probably already had. Emily would have already told her. Before heading out to do damage control, he turned to Sam. "You know how bad this is right? If my dad or Nora finds out, they'll ground us for forever."

"I'm sorry Derek!" he said apologetic but Derek wouldn't hear it. He wasn't in the mood to listen to anyone's excuses. He kept on walking until he got to Casey's locker where Emily and Casey were talking about something. Derek guessed it had to do with the rumors circulating around school. As he walked, he realized that everyone was staring at him and whispering as he passed. Even though he was used to this behavior and mostly enjoyed it, there was nothing enjoyable about being recognized for this situation.

When he reached them, he said, "Hey."

They both looked at him. Casey was the first one to say something. "So I guess you've heard about everything."

"Of course I have. I'm Derek Venturi remember. I hear about everything," he said jokingly.

Casey just scowled at him. Just like him to make a joke about absolutely everything, at the most inappropriate times no less. "This isn't a joking matter Derek!" she cried.

"I know. I'm sorry. Just trying to lighten the situation," he explained. "Trust me, I'm as angry as you are."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. She didn't really care about that at the moment. All she cared about was trying to get all the details of this situation. "How the hell could this have happened?"

"You haven't read the papers have you?" he asked and she shook her head. "Thought so." He handed her his copy of the paper. "Kind of speaks for it's self."

She took the piece of paper and read it. When she was done, her mouth was wide open in shock. Once she calmed down she said, "So this is all your fault?"

"No," he said trying to convince her. "This is no one's fault except for the people who started this whole mess. But if you want to blame someone, blame Sam."

"Why?"

"Because he was the one who dropped the letter for anyone to pick up." He said.

"He did, did he?" she said suddenly getting very angry at her former boyfriend. Derek nodded. "I'm going to kill him!" She started heading towards where Sam was standing, but Derek stopped her.

"No. Can't let you do that," he told her. "I'm as angry as you are but sometimes violence is never the answer."

"Never thought I would hear you say that. I thought you of all people would welcome the challenge."

"People change. I just think that hurting Sam won't do any good. He's not even the real culprit."

"I thought you said—"

"Just forget what I said!" Derek interrupted. "It's not important."

"Then who is the one that did this?"

"Not sure," Derek admitted. "It could be tons of people."

"Where did you write it?"

"In study hall."

"Okay then it has to be anyone that was in that study hall with you guys." Casey told him. "Was there anyone there that you knew?"

"Forgetting about the fact that I know mostly everyone, Kendra and Max were there." Suddenly an idea hit him. He just wondered why it took him so long to realize it. "Kendra and Max definitely did this!"

"Why so certain?" Casey asked him.

"Well they were sitting by us and they're the only people that I can think of that have any initiative to do this," he explained.

"Okay. Where are they?" Casey asked angrily. There was no way that she would let them get away with this.

"Not sure but probably by there lockers." Derek guessed.

She nodded and then said, "Now lets go." She took Derek's hand and took him towards Max's and Kendra's lockers. Just as Derek had guessed, they were standing right there talking about something.

They marched up to them and taped both of them on the shoulder as soon as they reached them.

_"We need to talk!" _


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me...for entertainment purposes only**

**Sorry for the delay. Something came up so it took me awhile for me to finish it but here it is and hope you enjoy. **

**Thanks again for all the reviews...They really encourage me to keep writing. And another special thanks to luvvin cody linley for editing this chapter for me.  
**

* * *

**Chapter fourteen**

"We need to talk!" Derek and Casey said almost simultaneously.

Kendra and Max turned around to face them. "About what?" they said as innocent as possible.

Both Casey and Derek rolled there eyes. "You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Casey yelled at both of them angrily.

"No we really don't," Kendra told them.

"Come on. Don't play coy with me," Casey said angrily. "We know what you did!"

"Please enlighten us.," Kendra said smirking. "What exactly did we do?"

Casey rolled her eyes again. Why do they have to be so stubborn? Casey looked over at Derek for a moment then turned back to Kendra. Derek wasn't enjoying this any more then she was.

A few seconds later, Derek had finally spoke up. "We don't have explain your own master plan to you guys, " he said angrily. "So please stop and tell us what the hell were you guys thinking doing this to us?"

"What exactly are you guys implying?" Kendra asked them.

"You guys are the ones who threw those papers around school!" Derek yelled at her.

"Oh right. Those were the papers that told everyone that you and Casey are dating right?" Kendra asked as innocently as possible. She was really enjoying this. They both nodded as if it was obvious. What other papers were floating around school? "Sorry not us." Kendra turned to Max. "Wish we could take credit for it though. It was a pretty good idea. Right max?" Max nodded.

Casey and Derek scowled at them. This was not going at all as they planned. Casey couldn't take this nonsense anymore so she pushed and pinned Kendra to the wall. "You listen and listen good; what you did was…"

"What's going on here?" A teacher asked interrupting Casey. She immediately let go of Kendra and turned to the teacher putting on the most innocent face that she could muster.

"Oh nothing. Just talking that's all," Casey explained. Since none of them wanted to get in trouble, all three of them followed suit and nodded there head in agreement.

"Okay. Just making sure," The teacher said skeptically. She was still not buying it but what else could she do. "But I do suggest all of you head off to class. Don't want to get caught again doing something you know you're not suppose to."

They all nodded and took off towards their next class. But before any of them left, Derek whispered something in Kendra's ear, "We'll talk about this later." After that they all left. Kendra and Max weren't fazed at all. After all, there was no possible way for them to get back at them.

They weren't dating each other's step-siblings. Not they had any of course.

XXXX

Derek and Casey walked up to there next class. They were standing at least 30 feet away from each other so no one would be suspicious. If anyone asked, they would say that they were going to the same class. It was true anyway. They _were_ going to the same class. They couldn't avoid the staring and whispering behind their backs though. Even though Derek was used to this kind of attention, (after all, he is the most popular guy at school – for now anyways.) it still bothered him. He wasn't used to the reasoning behind it all and negative impact that it would have on his reputation. Even though his reputation wasn't the most important thing to him anymore, he still wanted to live up to the image that people had of him. He wasn't going to just forget about that.

Although it had bugged Derek, It mostly bugged Casey. She thought she was passed all the staring and whispering now. When she first started going here, everyone made fun of, called her names, and couldn't stop whispering about her behind her back. The most memorable insistences were when people started calling her 'clutzilla' (which they still do, by the way) and 'grade grubber' (she was actually fortunate to lose that nick name but she had to give Derek credit for that one as much as it pained for her to admit that). Now she had to go through that all over again and she was certain that people would be talking about this one for a very long time. A person couldn't just get over knowing that the most popular guy in school was dating his step-sister and vice-versa. She knew that Derek's reputation was still important to him and that this was hurting him as much as it was hurting her. As much as Derek tried to deny it, she still knew that he cared about his reputation. After all everyone, including her, sometimes care about there image a few times through out there lifetime. She couldn't fault him for that.

Once they got in the classroom they sat on opposite sides of the class room. Again to make people less suspicious. Casey sat by Emily who was on the right side of the room and Derek sat with Sam who was on the left side of the room.

When Sam saw Derek walking towards him, he was surprised. "I thought we weren't talking," Sam said jokingly.

"Well I realized that it was stupid to blame you and that you were as much to blame as I was knowing that I'm never the one to blame," he said as he was sitting down.

"Well you were the one that wrote it in the first place." Sam pointed out. "And don't you know that letters like that can really ruin a person if they are put in the wrong hands."

"Now you're just copying what I said this morning," Derek said. "And I do know that and writing that was a momentary lapse of judgment on my part. I wasn't thinking."

"I'll say," Sam said jokingly.

Derek didn't say anything; he just rolled his eyes and shot him a look.

"So did you talk to Kendra and Max yet?" Sam asked after a while.

Derek looked at him confused. "How did you know that Kendra and Max were the ones who did this?"

"It was kind of obvious. After all they were in study hall with us and they're the only people that actually have a motive to do something like this."

"Yeah that's what I thought," Derek replied. "And I did try to talk to them this morning before the bell rang. They were being really difficult so we couldn't get anything out of them."

"Yeah definitely sounds like them," Sam told him.

"I'll say," Derek said rolling his eyes. Right after that, they changed the subject to hockey. They kept with that subject until the teacher told him to quiet down and start working on their latest project.

XXXX

Meanwhile Casey and Emily were talking about the same exact thing. Casey told her everything that happened when they met up with Kendra and Max. She told her that they couldn't get anything, including a confession of any sort, out of them. They kept on denying it when ever they were asked. They kept on talking about it until the teacher came in and told them to quiet down and to start working on there latest project.

Before they could start anything though, both Casey and Derek were called down to the principles office. Both of them looked at each other confused as if to see if the other had any answer. They got up and walked out the door with a quick acknowledgement to the professor. While they got up and walked towards the door everyone was watching their every move and whispering about them. They all were wondering why they were called down to the principles office.

Once they were out the door, Casey turned and looked at Derek. "So what did you do?" she asked

"You don't seriously think that I had something to do with this?" he said incredulous.

"Well, you're the one who usually gets in trouble," Casey pointed out. "So it's only natural to question you."

"You're wrong. I didn't do anything wrong," Derek told her. "And don't you think that if I did, you wouldn't be called down with me?"

Casey thought about it for a moment soon realizing that Derek made a pretty good point. She wouldn't be called down with him if he actually did something. The only explanation for this is for something that they did together. "Okay point taken," she said defeated.

Derek just smirked at her. "Thank you. So why do you think that we're being called down here?" he asked. "You didn't do anything did you?"

"I think that we already established that I didn't," she said annoyed.

"Right. So what do you think?"

"Not sure, but I have some ideas though."

"What are they?"

"Well, it could be because of the notes incident or maybe because of our actual relationship," she suggested.

"Sounds plausible, but wouldn't the actual people who did this be called down rather than us?" he asked.

"Under normal circumstances yes but not here. I doubt that they even know who did this in the first place. They might ask us if we had any idea who did it though," she explained.

"Probably," he said. "So are we going to rat them out?"

"I've been thinking about just that," Casey told him. "I definitely think we should. We have to get them back some how and this just seems like the perfect opportunity."

Derek nodded in agreement. They were quiet the rest of the way there. There minds were going over drive though. They were thinking about what this meeting would be about and what the principle would ask them. Both of them knew that this meeting was more than just about the letter ordeal.

Once they got to the principles office, they walked over to two chairs next to the wall and sat down. They waited five minutes before the principle came out and got them.

"Ms. McDonald; Mr. Venturi," the principle called once he got into the waiting room. "Come with me please." He signaled and they got up and followed him into his office. They sat down in the two chairs situated across from him. A desk was located right between them.

"You wanted to speak to us?" Derek asked.

"Yes I do," he replied. "You probably know about the whole letter incident right." They both nodded. "Well that's why I wanted to speak with you too. I heard that you too were involved in the whole thing."

"Yes we are but that doesn't mean we were the ones who threw them all around school," Derek told him.

"Okay but that isn't important. What's important is what those letters entail."

"So what are you saying?"

"Is it true that you two are dating?" he asked them accusingly.

Derek and Casey both looked at each other. They both wanted to know why that was even relevant or why he even wanted to know that. They turned back to principle after a few seconds. "Not to be rude or anything but how is that any of your business." Derek told him.

"As the principle, it's my job to know what's going on with my students. I see nothing wrong with asking if the two of you are dating."

Derek sighed. "Okay we _are_ dating. Happy now?"

"Yes I am," he said. "Now lets talk about how wrong this situation is!"

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"You guys are step-siblings for one and for two, you know how much parents would disapprove?"

"Again, I don't see how anyone would care that we are dating," he pointed out forgetting about his fellow students reactions to the letters. "And besides we aren't blood related and haven't grown up together so that whole incest thing is out of the question."

"That may be, but first and foremost concern is to my students and I don't think that they would approve of going to school with people who are incestuous."

"Didn't I already explain to you that our relationship isn't incestuous since we aren't blood related," he said slightly raising his voice, with definite annoyance easily heard.

"Yes but that doesn't mean that it's right. It just isn't natural for someone to date family.," he explained.

"So what do you want us to do? Break up?" Derek asked.

"That's a definite possibility," he said sadly.

"And what would happen if we didn't?"

"Then we'll have to call your parents. The school itself doesn't have any power regarding these kind of situations but I'm pretty sure your parents would give you the appropriate punishment."

"You aren't actually going to call our parents are you?"

"It's the only way. I'm sorry but our school won't allow this kind of relationship," the principle explained again. Casey and Derek were looking at him shocked and angry. Who does the principle think he is giving ultimatums like that? It was none of his business who they date in the first place.

"That isn't fair!" Derek complained.

"Has anyone told you life isn't fair?" he said. "That's just the way it has to be, okay?"

"But…"

"No buts." He interrupted. "Now excuse me while I call your parents." He motioned them out the door and they went. They left with angry expressions on their faces. They both couldn't believe that the principle had the nerve to treat them like that. What they do in his life, all his presonal experiences?

XXXX

Meanwhile, In the principles office, the principle was talking with someone. "Hi, Mrs. Venturi?...yes, something came up with Casey McDonald and Derek Venturi….you may be surprised to hear this, but they are, as far as I can tell...


	15. Authors note

**Author's note: I'm soo sorry that i haven't been able to update again for weeks now. School just has been so hectic (being a junior sucks) that i haven't had the time to sit down and finish writing the next chapter. I'll try to finish it soon but for now you just have to bare with me. I'll update as soon as i can. **

** You guys have been awesome and i hope that you won't abandon this story and hate me for taking this long to update (or in this case writing an authors note) **

**Margo  
**


End file.
